Chapter 694: [Blood Splashes the Deep Pool] (Lower)

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Zhou Mo and Hu Xiaotian simultaneously dove into Peach Blossom Pond; having just descended a short distance, they saw swarms of crescent jellyfish, like clouds, sweeping in, surrounding Hu Xiaotian who was circled by them, while all the crescent jellyfish went to encircle Zhou Mo; although Zhou Mo's martial arts were superb, facing this situation he had no recourse, only using inner force to form a protective gang qi around his body, which could block the frenzied attacks of the crescent jellyfish but could not be sustained long, so he had to retreat again.

Hu Xiaotian felt great wonder; when he first entered Peach Blossom Pond, the crescent jellyfish also frenziedly attacked him, but back then there were not so many; in just a few days, the number of jellyfish seemed to have increased severalfold, yet these jellyfish avoided him—wherever Hu Xiaotian swam, they scattered. It seems this is because he consumed the Wind and Cloud Fruit; the task of skinning must be done by himself alone.

Hu Xiaotian followed the original water route back to the python's lair; the giant python's huge corpse still lay straight there. Hu Xiaotian took out a dagger and peeled the python skin from the body of the Purple Lightning Giant Python. Although Hu Xiaotian had never skinned a python before, for him as a surgeon this work was not particularly difficult; after a short while he had stripped the entire python skin, rolled it into a bundle and tied it. His gaze fell on the spot where he had discovered the Wind and Cloud Fruit; Hu Xiaotian took out an iron shovel from behind and began to probe each spot, since that profound iron sword belonged to Lin Baotao, it was likely that the black Hu experts who besieged him had also appeared here; perhaps several people fought a decisive battle nearby and perished together. It is also possible that the Purple Lightning Giant Python dragged their corpses here and fermented them into flower mud.

Having a handy tool made the search much easier; Hu Xiaotian first dug out an axe from the mire, then found a long robe; pulling on it, he found it extraordinarily tough, and Hu Xiaotian secretly marveled that even bones had rotted in this damp, dark underground. Let alone ordinary clothing, it seemed this garment was out of the ordinary. After searching carefully for half a day, he found the most skeletal remains, and besides those there were four weapons, a string of Buddhist prayer beads, and an iron plate. Although the iron plate was not large, it felt quite heavy in hand, its texture similar to that of the profound iron sword, so Hu Xiaotian also collected it.

Just these items alone required Hu Xiaotian to make three round trips before he could haul them all up.

By the time he transported these items back to Baofeng Hall, it was already dawn.

Hu Xiaotian had Xiong Tianba clean all the obtained items thoroughly and then send them to the room. The four weapons, though extraordinary, still could not compare with the profound iron sword Hu Xiaotian had found earlier; the truly special item was the garment Hu Xiaotian found, which after washing revealed its true form: a red kasaya, buried for so many years in a place where no sunlight reaches. It remained vivid, the kasaya embroidered with gold thread, its upper part covered in runes.

Zhou Mo knew nothing about Buddhism, and even with Xiao Tianmu's erudition he did not know what this kasaya was.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Could this kasaya belong to the Black Hu National Master?" He had previously heard Xiao Tianmu speak of that past incident, so he made this speculation.

Xiao Tianmu nodded and said, "Quite possible; Timoduo is the Black Hu National Master, he cultivated the Northern Dark Esoteric Sect, hailing from Fan Yin Si; this kasaya should be his."

Hu Xiaotian unfolded the kasaya and gazed at the writing on it.

Zhou Mo said, "Third Brother, do you understand the Hu people's script?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head: "I don't!" He secretly recalled, remembering a certain martial arts novel he had read before, which said someone had embroidered the Sword Manual of Warding Evil onto a kasaya; could the writing on this kasaya also be a martial arts secret manual?

Xiao Tianmu said, "Third Brother, this kasaya is certainly not ordinary; after decades it remains bright as new, neither rotting nor decaying, and its texture is extremely tough; you should keep it well, for perhaps later you will be able to uncover its secret."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, then took out the profound iron plate; Zhou Mo and Xiao Tianmu took turns weighing it, confirming that the material of the iron plate was the same as that of the profound iron sword. After washing off the sludge on the iron plate, one could see that the relief carving engraved on its upper part resembled the pattern on the hilt of the profound iron sword.

Xiao Tianmu drew out the profound iron sword; Hu Xiaotian placed the iron plate on top of the sword's hilt, and the iron plate fit exactly into it.

Zhou Mo said, "There must be some mystery in this."

Hu Xiaotian gripped the sword hilt with both hands and pressed hard; the profound iron sword showed no change. Zhou Mo thought his strength insufficient, took the sword from Hu Xiaotian's hands, gripped and pushed, busying himself for half a day, yet the profound iron sword remained utterly motionless.

Zhou Mo said, "It seems this iron plate has nothing special; third brother, put it away for now."

Hu Xiaotian put away the iron plate and returned the profound iron sword to Xiao Tianmu for safekeeping. Bringing up the matter of last night's seven Black Hu warriors being slain, Xiao Tianmu, after hearing it, nodded and said, "It appears someone is deliberately framing the Sword Palace; the Sword Palace and the Black Hu have an irreconcilable enmity; although the Sword Palace's founder Lin Baotao is dead, their hatred has never been erased; with so many Black Hu warriors slain this time, the Hu people will certainly not let it rest."

Zhou Mo said, "I have put away the wooden tablet engraved with the Sword Palace's characters; although it is not our concern, since I saw it I will help them once."

Xiao Tianmu, however, shook his head and said, "You should not have taken that wooden tablet."

Zhou Mo exclaimed in astonishment, "Why?"

Xiao Tianmu said, "If you had not taken that wooden tablet, perhaps the Black Hu would suspect the Sword Palace's leadership; but since you took it, they will fix their suspicions on us."

Zhou Mo said, "So what? Anyway we didn't do it."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Even if they record this debt on our heads, there's nothing to fear; if that wooden tablet falls into Black Hu hands, the Sword Palace will be drawn in, and they will spare no expense to find out who is behind the framing; if the Black Hu do not suspect us, perhaps the Sword Palace will suspect us, given that our recent conflict with the Black Hu has been the greatest."

Xiao Tianmu sighed and said, "In short, trouble will not be lacking; you two brothers are out in the open, so you must be especially vigilant."

Zhou Mo said, "I and the bear child will move to Qichen Palace today; we cannot stay here, lest they suspect you."

"That's fine!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Have Tang Tiehan and his sister already left Yongdu?"

Xiao Tianmu said, "I sent people to follow them as they left Yongdu; they and his sister have indeed gone to Dakang."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, secretly relieved; Tang Tiehan and his sister belong to the brave-but-reckless type; if they were allowed to stay in Yongdu, they would not only fail to help him but might cause trouble; the current affairs are already many. No room for any mistake, as the wedding date approaches, absolutely no slip can be allowed; if any small oversight occurs, it could lead to total defeat.

Xiao Tianmu said, "What does Princess Anping say?" The most crucial link now still lies with Xi Yan; if she does not change her original intention, still wanting to use this grand marriage to assassinate the Seventh Prince of Da Yong, Xue Daoming, then these people must make plans early.

Hu Xiaotian said, "I have already analyzed the situation with her and advised her to change her mind; her attitude is not as resolute as before, her inner feelings should have loosened."

Xiao Tianmu said, "If she truly represents the interests of the Xichuan Li clan, then attempting to assassinate Xue Daoming to provoke a conflict between Dakang and Da Yong is absolutely a mistaken move."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "The Da Yong–Black Hu alliance. Its purpose is self-evident: to secure the rear without worry, so they can free their hands to deal with Dakang."

Xiao Tianmu sighed and said, "It seems Dakang's plan to use marriage to stabilize Da Yong's advantageous calculations has come to nothing."

Zhou Mo sighed with feeling and said, "Dakang and Xichuan are originally one, lips and teeth depend on each other. Does Li Tianheng fail to see the present situation? If he persists obstinately, the ultimate victim will not be Dakang alone."

Xiao Tianmu said, "Perhaps Li Tianheng has not yet grasped the current shift in circumstances; if he were aware of the present situation, he would not make this erroneous decision."

Hu Xiaotian suddenly recalled an important matter; he informed Jimin that the situation in Kangdu's imperial city had suddenly changed, an affair he had not yet had a chance to tell his two sworn brothers.

Xiao Tianmu and Zhou Mo heard of this matter; both of their expressions became unprecedentedly solemn, Xiao Tianmu's brows locked tight, after a moment of reflection he asked, "Xiaotian, is this indeed true?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "The information Jimin told me should be true; Long Yelin has suddenly gone mad; now overseeing state affairs is the Crown Prince Long Tingsheng, with Empress Jian ruling from behind the curtain."

Xiao Tianmu said, "What do you think?" Regarding familiarity with internal palace affairs, none of them could surpass Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Long Yelin's body has no problem; I think he this time surely offended Ji Feihua, who commands Da Yong's 100,000-strong Feather Forest Army; Long Yelin is merely a puppet in her hand. In fact, who sits on the throne makes no difference; the true power holders now are all Ji Feihua."

Zhou Mo angrily said, "If I ever get the chance, I will certainly eliminate this calamitous national monster!"

Xiao Tianmu said, "Originally, Long Yelin's plot to seize the throne was with Ji Feihua's support; Ji Feihua personally put him on the throne, and now she herself has pulled him down; what exactly has transpired between them?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Regarding the selection of the crown prince, Long Yelin and Ji Feihua have always disagreed; moreover, after Long Yelin took office he clearly became dissatisfied with Ji Feihua, unwilling to remain forever her puppet, secretly joining with Quan De'an and the Grand Tutor Wen Chenghuan to try to regain his own power."

Xiao Tianmu nodded.

Hu Xiaotian said, "It seems Wen Chenghuan's faction has been utterly defeated; for us this is not really bad news." He had always belonged to Ji Feihua's camp; Ji Feihua entrusted him with important tasks, this appointment as Marriage Dispatch Historian came from Ji Feihua's suggestion; Ji Feihua had him kill Wen Boyuan along the way—although Wen Boyuan did not die directly at his hand, it was nonetheless because of him, which should count as having satisfactorily fulfilled Ji Feihua's assignment to him.

The upheaval in Kangdu's imperial palace is certainly not a bad thing for him; thus the Kangdu royal family may well no longer pay attention to Princess Anping's affairs.

Xiao Tianmu said, "The specific circumstances are still unclear; we cannot yet be blindly optimistic."

Got drunk, but still responsible, I owe you the update, I'm sending it up—this dedicated, if you don't give the Monthly Ticket to me, who will you give it to? (A great activity where pies fall from the sky, cool phones waiting for you to grab! Follow the ~click/official account (add friends on WeChat-add official account-enter qdread), join now! Everyone gets a prize, immediately follow the qdread WeChat official account!)(To be continued~^~)